


Giving Up the Ghost

by alwaysupatnight



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Biting, Culebra!Seth, Don't copy to another site, Eventual Smut, F/M, I don't know where I'm going with this yet, I just wanted to write sexy vampire bf Seth Gecko, Kate doesn't die at the blood well, Post Season 2, Richie saves him, Seth shows up to save her and gets fatally wounded, Smut, Unsafe Sex, bear with me guys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-06-23 19:27:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19707913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysupatnight/pseuds/alwaysupatnight
Summary: Who else butKate fucking Fullerwould risk her own neck for a bunch of bloodsuckers? Kid’s got a knack for getting sucked into Category 5 shitsorms on a routine basis. And now with Richard pulling the reins?Since day one, there’d been one rule he’d stipulated to Richie when it came to the kid:Not to fucking touch the kid.Worse, Seth’s questioning every move his brother makes when he can’t even trust Richie not to light up their own goddamn family tree....This is just another fire Richard is starting, and Seth will be damned before he allows Kate to get caught up in its flames.Or: Seth gets fatally wounded saving Kate at the blood well and Richie turns him.





	1. Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

**Author's Note:**

> I first had the idea for this back in APRIL. Anyway, this glorious idea is finally taking shape. I hope y'all enjoy! :D

There just aren’t rules for dealing with this shit. No _Thieving for Dummies_ handbook to consult. There’s only Uncle Eddie’s rules, but Eddie sure as hell never could have anticipated the day the Gecko Brothers would be done _for good_.

And Seth? Not in a million goddamn years would he have played Judas just for a seat at the top.

Honor among thieves and all that.

“Fucking Richard,” Seth grits, and even just speaking his brother’s name aloud is enough to leave a bad taste in his mouth. Seth spits, but it does nothing to rid him of the disgust he feels at Richard’s betrayal.

It’s one thing to take a deal under the table, but to sell out your entire crew? _Unforgivable_. And if he were anyone else, Seth wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between all four of his brother’s backstabbing blue snake eyes.

He was _supposed_ to be on his way to the lifestyle he’d always dreamed of. Money. Beaches. Girls in little string bikinis offering him umbrella drinks. And yet again, instead of spending his days wading in warm Caribbean ocean waves, Seth has to walk away from millions on account of his brother.

Malvado’s flunkies got up to quite the chit chat back at the warehouse. Seth had just barely managed to fend off the four-armed fuck and deliver a swift K.O. to the rest of the mob, but not before they’d prattled on about the _deal_ Richard had struck with the FPIC (Fanged Prick in Charge). And when he’d found Santanico skulking around Malvado’s HQ she’d been able to divine Richie’s location through their psychic bond. Seth vamoosed back to the honky-tonk upstairs and lifted the first car he saw in the parking lot. He by far ain’t the biggest fan of the succubus Richard calls his girlfriend—the only consolation being Richie betrayed her too—but this one time it’s paid to be well acquainted with a forked tongue.

He knows he’s getting close when the car gives a sudden jolt and he nearly spins off the road, because every forbidden ritual involving the snakes always seems to announce itself with an _earthquake_.

Seth can only guess at the horrors this next event has in store for him, and steps on the gas. He doesn’t slow again until Richard’s Camaro comes into view, silhouetted by the moon at the end of a long dusty road. He shuts off the engine and coasts the rest of the way to the ridge, parking the hijacked ride right next to Richie’s.

Looking off into the distance, he spots his brother easily enough. It’s hard to mistake Richie’s gangly form, even from here.

All six feet of stupid.

With a gun aimed at his back.

“Fucking idiot.”

Richard’s gums are flapping in what Seth can only assume is a piss-poor attempt at negotiations. His brother has a _talent_ for riling people up just to want to kick his ass, and Seth’s always the one swooping in at the last second to stage a rescue. There’s a reason the Gecko Brothers worked so well. That they worked _at all_. And it’s because Richard just had to sit back and keep his goddamned mouth shut while _Seth_ did all the talking.

Richard always was shit at navigating social cues.

Seems his brother hasn’t learned a damned thing since the last time he’d gone rogue and made plans behind Seth’s back. He should’ve known better than to trust his brother, the Mastermind of Fucking up, not to completely blow it on this job. Not for the first time, Seth wonders if Richie had been deprived of oxygen on his way out of the birth canal, because—in spite of that big brain of his—Richard’s got the biggest boner for committing dumbassery of magnitudes the likes of which Seth has never seen.

But the part of this Seth can’t even _begin_ to wrap his mind around is why Richard would drag _Kate_ of all people into his mess.

There’d been mentions of a girl back at Jed’s, one who knew the location of the blood well. With the high volume of human trafficking deliveries that gets sent through that place, Seth had almost dismissed this little tidbit as unimportant. But there’d been a niggling at the back of his mind, his hackles rising as Richie’s involvement with the organization became clear. Because who else but _Kate fucking Fuller_ would risk her own neck for a bunch of bloodsuckers? Kid’s got a knack for getting sucked into Category 5 shitstorms on a routine basis. And now with Richard pulling the reins?

Since day one, there’d been one rule he’d stipulated to Richie when it came to the kid: _Not to fucking touch the kid._

Worse, Seth’s questioning every move his brother makes when he can’t even trust Richie not to light up their own goddamn family tree.

_Eddie_.

The reminder nearly has Seth doubling over with the urge to vomit. Not only have they blown Eddie’s job, the one he’d so carefully plotted and died for, but they’d also failed to honor the man who’d raised them. The loss of Uncle Eddie goes deeper than any pain Seth has ever known, and it’s just one more excuse Seth’s got to curse his brother.

Seth shakes off the ill feeling settling at the pit of his stomach and focuses his attention to the scene below. He squints, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. But it’s not until Richard moves his gawky body aside that Seth is finally able to get a good look at the rest of the gang.

“Shit,” he curses.

Because there’s _Kate_.

With Carlos.

Holding a gun to her head.

Suspicions confirmed, Seth rises from his perch with a growl and heads back to Richie’s Camaro, popping the trunk and arming himself with supplies from Richie’s weapons cache.

This is just another fire Richard is starting, and Seth will be _damned_ before he allows Kate to get caught up in its flames.

All loaded up, Seth cracks his neck, readying for a fight.

::::

_Our Lord who art in Heaven, hallowed be your name..._

Kate shuts her eyes and prays, reciting the words in her mind despite the rush of adrenaline singing in her blood.

God, what has she gotten herself into?

Kate doesn’t know what exactly she’d expected would happen when she came to warn Scott about Richie’s plan, but it sure as _hell_ didn’t involve having the hot end of a pistol pressed to the side of her head.

_Your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven..._

Carlos jerks Kate in his arms, the obsidian edged sword in his left hand a heavy weight against her belly that makes her lose all track of thought. One of the weapon’s many razor-sharp edges digs into her skin through her jacket sleeve, and she cries out. A warm trickle of blood seeps down her arm. Kate’s pulse skyrockets, and she sucks in a breath, paralyzed with the blade nearly at her throat.

“If you stop the pump, we can negotiate like men,” Richie says.

“We’re not men, _Dick_ ,” Carlos sneers, and Kate would take pleasure in the insult—because he damn well deserves it. But all humor is lost to her when she’s become Carlos’s latest bargaining chip in compelling Richie to talk. “ _What did he offer you_ ,” Carlos hisses.

Kate’s worst nightmares always begin with Richard Gecko.

It’s been almost four months since the Twister, and that horror story began the moment Richie’s unsettling gaze pricked the hairs on the back of her neck and she’d startled at his forbidding presence at the edge of the Dewdrop Inn pool. Clad in a dark suit, he’d been a sign of all the things to come.

Once again, she’d found herself alone with Richie tonight.

And once again, it’s only to find herself on the _wrong_ side of safety.

Goddamn Richard Gecko for steering her into this mess, and Scott all too happy to play co-pilot.

“Let her go, okay?” her brother finally asks Carlos, but Kate knows it’s no use. You can’t reason with the unreasonable.

If their roles had been reversed, she’d stop at _nothing_ to save her little brother. She’s stuck by him despite all the horrible things he’s done. All the things _she’s_ done _for him_.

Buried her best friend in her backyard.

Drove a knife into the heart of some poor boy whose name she doesn’t even know.

Because _nothing_ is more important than family.

It’s so stupid that she’d actually _believed_ that. She can sense Scott beside her, but he may as well be on the moon when he’s proven himself useless to defend her.

She wanted so badly to believe she could save him. Struggled with the death and suffering they’ve brought to others, deluding herself into thinking it would all have a _purpose_ if she could just get him to _stop killing_.

Only to find it was all a fantasy.

Worse. When all they’ve done is leave a trail of bodies in their wake.

Seth always did accuse her of being too naive.

Carlos dismisses Scott like nothing. “He wants the well for himself, and he betrayed everyone for it,” he says, and Richie stiffens at the ugly truth.

Kate used to think Richie was the smartest person she’s ever met. But now, she doesn’t know if it’s guilt or pity that she sees when he gazes back at her, so clearly at a loss for a way to clean up the mess he’s made.

When he’s probably calculated every perceivable outcome and determined that _none_ of them are in her favor.

_Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts..._

The muscles of Carlos’s forearm begin to harden with scales, his arm squeezing about her waist and pulling her in close, making her short of breath. Even if she tries to make a break for it, she won’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. Stay put, and get a bullet in the brain. But she can’t sit back and do _nothing_ , because her options are already nearing zero, and with Carlos’s patience running thin and a hair-trigger away from lighting up the place, the window for bright ideas is slamming shut.

What would Seth do if he were here? He’d make something up on the fly, because things never seem to go according to plan around these guys. And with bad luck that follows them around like a shadow, Seth’s always prepared to get down and dirty.

“If this thing finishes pumping, Malvado gets everything he wants,” she says, a last ditch effort to make them see reason. Kate hopes they don’t notice the tremble in her voice. Richie’s eyes cling to hers as she continues. “This blood doesn’t belong to you, or him, or anybody. It belongs to culebras like Scott.”

“She’s right about that,” Richie says. “Nobody’s gonna get anything unless you stop that pump _right now_!”

A gunshot splits the air and Kate screams as everybody ducks their heads. She stumbles forward a few steps before Carlos snatches her back and pulls her upright against him, jamming the pistol under her chin so hard that her teeth clack together. Kate whimpers, the sting of a bite on her tongue filling her mouth with the taste of blood.

“Seth,” Carlos hisses. “So glad you could join us.”

Kate gasps as Seth appears at the bottom of the hill, because he’s here. He’s _here_ , and everything inside of her sings with relief.

_...as we also have forgiven our debtors..._

Seth glances around himself, wearing a look of confusion. “Wait a second,” he starts. “This ain’t the beach. Think I must’ve gotten lost. Y’see, I’m supposed to be halfway to Guatemala with my riches by now, but _no_!” Seth holds an accusing finger out at Richie. “Instead, I had to come all the way down here and bail _your_ dumb ass out of a goddamned _hostage situation_!”

Richie frowns. “I would have had this handled if it weren’t for Tammy Wynette here sneaking up behind me and holding a gun to my head,” he spouts off defensively with a dirty glance back at Carlos’s biker-clad girlfriend.

“Yeah, and what did Uncle Eddie used to say about going in without backup, huh? And now you’ve gone and made a shit situation even worse. Congratulations, fuckface.”

“Hey, fuck you! What the hell are you even doing here anyway? I don’t remember asking for your help.”

“I’m not here for you,” Seth says, redirecting his aim at Carlos. Kate would cry with joy at the prospect of an actual rescue if it weren’t for Carlos’s barely contained wrath forcing her to keep still. “Let the kid go.”

“As I told _tu pinche hermano_ ,” Carlos starts, grabbing a fistful of Kate’s hair and jerking her head back. Kate can’t help the cry that tears from her throat. “No deal.”

Fear washes over her like an ice-cold bath. There’s no way this ends with her walking out of here. She’s sure of it. Tears escape down her cheeks.

Seth’s face hardens, lips flattening into a thin line. “Listen, _compadre_. I don’t want your forbidden Kool-Aid. Fuck, take my idiot brother as a complimentary gift while you’re at it! Do whatever the hell you want! But I’m taking the girl.”

“Wait a second—”

“ _Shut up, Richard_. I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Seth says, the threat dark and full of promise.

Carlos’s fingers tighten in her hair so that the pain of it flares all throughout her face. “S-Seth,” Kate whimpers.

A pained look crosses over Seth’s face, there and gone in an instant with the mask of cool resolution taking its place.

“Okay,” Seth says with a nod. “I didn’t want it to have to come to this.”

“What are you going to do?” Tanner mocks. “I mean, we’ve clearly got you guys outnumbered, five to three.”

Without hesitation, Seth shoots the giant culebra holding Richie. The biker groans and fades into a pile of ashes.

“Thought I’d even the odds a little,” Seth shrugs.

In the moment everyone turns their attention to the newly deceased culebra, Kate senses Scott beside her, nudging the grip of one of his swords into the palm of her hand. It’s heavier than she anticipates, but she clings to it like a lifeline.

Richie makes a dive for the discarded rifle among the culebra’s ashes, and Kate sees her chance. With no time to second-guess herself, Kate swings her arm up and thrusts the blade into the back of Carlos’s thigh. Carlos yells, his hold on Kate loosening enough so that she can propel herself forward as Carlos falls to one knee.

“Kate, no!” Seth shouts.

He dashes forward to catch her, pulling her into his arms—

Everything explodes into chaos.

Kate crashes to the ground with Seth’s body almost on top of hers as bullets splinter the wood inches from her face. There’s grunts and the muted sound of punches as someone takes a blow to the stomach, followed by the unsheathing of steel and the clashing of blades.

Scott circles Carlos, twirling the sword in his hand, his moves fluid and graceful like a dancer. Kate stares dumbfounded at her brother until Seth hauls her up onto her feet and drags her behind a row of barrels.

“Motherfucker,” Seth grits, gripping his right arm.

“You’re hurt!” Kate reaches to inspect the wound.

Seth shrugs his arm away. “S’just a flesh wound. How you holding up, kiddo?”

“Been better. Glad to see you,” she says, scrubbing the wetness from her cheeks. “Where’s your backup?”

Seth gives a dark laugh. “I’m it, sweetheart.”

Kate barely resists letting loose the scream of frustration that wants to escape her throat. But a fresh hail of bullets has Seth forcing her to duck her head back down.

“Enough chitchat,” he says. He reaches into the back of his pants and hands her his revolver, digging into his jacket pocket for a fistful of bullets. “Here you go.” Kate catches the ammo in the palm of her hand, and sets to work reloading the gun like he taught her. They work together seamlessly, as if they hadn’t parted ways weeks ago. Once loaded, she holds out the gun for him, but Seth waves her off. “You remember how to use that thing?” he asks.

Kate nods her head.

“Alright, I’m gonna need you to cover me, Princess.”

“Wha—” she just barely manages to say before he’s darting out from behind their cover.

He’s going to do something reckless. Kate dares to peek her head over the barrel to watch as Seth dashes around the platform. A bullet pings off the metal, sparking inches from her face. Kate shrieks, ducking her head.

“Oh, god,” she whispers.

No matter how familiar a gun has started to feel in her hands, there is no getting used to _this_. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Kate fires off shots from behind the safety of the barrels. Five rounds in total.

Seth’s quick for all that brawn as he dodges bullets and dives behind a stack of wooden crates. Kate wonders what his play is until she sees him light a fuse...

...right next to the tanker.

Seth scrambles for cover, and Kate retreats back behind the barrels, curling herself into a ball. With trembling hands, Kate covers her ears.

_Lead us not into temptation..._

The tanker _explodes_ , and it feels like the end of the world. The blast rocks Kate onto her side, and Kate shields her head with her arms. Blood and dirt and debris fall like rain, showering down upon her. She is deafened to everything but her own panicked breaths and the high-pitched ringing in her ears. Seconds seem to pass like minutes in the soundless aftermath of an explosion.

Someone vaults over the barrels, and Kate jumps.

_Seth_.

He shakes her out of the ball she’s made of herself. His mouth forms the shape of her name, and she thanks God that she can _hear_ it.

“You okay?”

Except for his labored breaths and the sheen of sweat on his face, Seth somehow manages to appear cool and collected. As if a tanker full of holy blood hadn’t _just_ exploded less than twenty feet away from him. There’s not even a drop of blood on him.

“I-I’m fine.”

“Jesus Christ, you look like something out of _The Evil Dead_ ,” he remarks, hauling her up by the arm. “We gotta go. C’mon!” He grabs her arm, dragging her along behind him.

“But Scott—”

They stop dead as a chorus of hisses begins all around them. Kate whips around to see Carlos emerge from the destruction, face dripping with the blood of a thousand souls. He gives a low growl that makes goose bumps ripple up Kate’s arms. Carlos gathers the blood on his face with his fingers and sucks them clean. The sight of it makes Kate want to gag. The taste of _santa sangre_ only seems to magnify Carlos’s bloodlust, prompting his fangs to burst from his gums.

“Oh, give me a break,” Seth groans.

Kate jumps as Carlos’s girlfriend springs up onto the platform before them, advancing with slit eyes and gleaming fangs.

“Seth...” Kate warns, feeling like a caged animal with culebras all around, each one roused with a lust for blood.

_Every single one of them._

Kate clings to Seth’s arm, uneasy at the sight of Scott’s and Richie’s transformed faces and the frenzied looks in their yellow eyes. The way they follow her and Seth’s every move, as if they’ve spotted their next meal.

The only one missing is Tanner, who Kate guesses must have escaped sometime during the gunfight.

Seth tugs Kate behind him, and it’s like they’re back in that temple. Like they never left it. The only thing that gives Kate any measure of confidence is the gun in her hand, and even then she doesn’t allow herself to relax. Seth snatches up a scrap of splintered wood as long as his arm, sharp enough to stake a culebra. Though Kate hopes he won’t have to use it on either of their brothers.

“Richard...” Seth cautions, panic edging into his voice as Carlos and his girl inch closer. The culebra couple snarls and hisses, their faces monstrous, eyes glowing. “Richard!”

Richie blinks, as if snapping out of a trance. With a growl, he takes a running leap at Carlos. Scott follows after, wielding twin blades against the biker chick.

Seth tosses Richie his stake, and Richie beats Carlos over the head with it, readying to stake him. But Carlos catches Richie’s arm, knocking the stake out of his hand. With a kick and a punch to his abdomen, Richie’s knocked off balance. Seizing him by the neck, Carlos flings Richie over his shoulder, and Richie crashes through the platform, disappearing into the cavern below.

With Richie out of the way, Carlos turns on her and Seth next, charging their way like an oncoming storm.

Seth shoves Kate out of Carlos’s path, and she pitches to the ground. Tears burn her eyes at the stinging pain in both of her knees. With a grunt, she rises to her feet, ignoring the hot slick of blood as it drips down her jeans.

While Scott faces off with the biker chick, Seth goes hand-to-hand with Carlos, moving in a blur as he connects his fist to Carlos’s face. Carlos tackles Seth to the ground, pinning Seth beneath him. Kate scrambles to reload her gun, groping for the remaining bullets stowed in her jacket pocket. The bullets spill to the ground. Kate curses, grasping at them with clumsy fingers. She shoves the remaining three bullets into the revolver’s chambers.

Carlos’s eyes seem to glow brighter as he rears back, steel fangs glinting in the moonlight. With an animalistic shriek, he latches onto Seth’s neck.

“ _No!_ ” Kate screams.

Seth gives a cry unlike anything she’s ever heard.

Even worse than that is the silencing of it.

Forcing her eyes away, she snaps the loaded cylinder back into place, swinging the gun up to take aim at Carlos.

It’s like an explosion at her fingertips, and Kate flinches as the gun kicks back.

Blood spurts from a wound in Carlos’s shoulder, and he jerks his head up, mouth stained red and eyes flashing with danger. He jumps up, snarling, his head bobbing like an angered serpent.

_Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us..._

Kate fires at Carlos, hitting her target once in the arm. He barely falters, and Kate panics, firing off another round.

_Click_.

_Click_.

Empty.

Kate’s heart stops as Carlos bears down on her, knowing she won’t be able to save herself in time—

Richie flies out of nowhere and tackles Carlos to the ground. Kate gasps in surprise as the two clash fists, but she doesn’t waste one more second. Surging to her feet, Kate sprints to the other side of the clearing where Seth lies injured.

Seth rises clumsily to his feet and stumbles forward, clutching his neck. Blood gushes between his fingers, drenching the front of his clothes. His knees give out, and he collapses in a heap on the ground.

“Seth!” Kate cries, evading her brother who is still brawling with the biker chick. Finally, she skids to a stop at Seth’s side. “Oh my god,” she chokes. Carlos ripped into him with his fangs, leaving a gaping hole, the muscles in Seth’s neck visible. Kate tears off her jacket and applies pressure to the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood pouring from Seth like a flood. It soaks through the denim fabric in seconds, leaving her hands sticky and warm.

“Help!” she cries, glancing frantically around, but everyone is still engaged in a fight, which leaves her alone to help Seth. But Kate doesn’t know how to _fix_ this. “J-just hold on,” Kate begs. “You’re gonna be okay.”

“He fuckin’ bit me,” Seth sputters between mouthfuls of blood.

“Shhh,” Kate soothes. It’s worse when he tries to talk.

“Kate,” he says, his voice garbled with blood, eyes wide with fear.

Kate has always known Seth to be a force to reckon with. To see him like this, so afraid and powerless, brings tears to her eyes.

There won’t be any coming back from this.

There’s a scream, and Kate looks in time to see the biker chick with the end of Scott’s blade protruding from her chest. Carlos falters as the scream echoes into silence and his girlfriend fades away into embers, leaving only a pile of ashes. In almost the same moment, Richie thrusts a shaft of broken wood through Carlos’s chest. To Kate’s surprise, Carlos doesn’t immediately dissolve into ashes like she’s seen happen to all other culebras. Instead, he grunts and groans as he pulls the shaft from his body.

“He isn’t burning up,” Richie announces. Carlos struggles, weak from the attack and unable to escape with Richie holding him fast.

“Surprise, surprise,” Carlos laughs. “I beat the labyrinth, and it gave me so much more in return.”

Scott appears beside Richie. Thrusting the blade of his sword under Carlos’s chin, Scott tips Carlos’s head up to meet his gaze.

“What are you doing, _mijo_?” Carlos asks, amusement clear in his voice.

“Finishing this,” her brother answers. Scott swings his sword up, and in the instant it takes for the blade to descend, Carlos’s eyes widen with genuine fear. Kate looks away at the last second before the sharpened edge connects with the back of Carlos’s neck, and the culebra’s head falls to the ground with a sickening thud.

Movement beneath her hands tears her attention back to Seth. He thrashes, legs kicking, and Kate can’t hold him still _and_ staunch the wound at the same time. “Shh, shh, _no no no_ ,” she mutters, panic flaring through her, because he can’t breathe. _He can’t breathe_. “H-he’s dying!”

Richie is beside her in an instant, and Kate’s heart surges with hope because Richie _always_ seems to know the answer to everything. So he’ll definitely know what to do, right?

_Right?_

But with one glance at Richie, Kate feels as though the floor has disappeared from under her. Because instead of the calculating intelligence she’d expected to find in Richie’s eyes, there is only tragedy.

_Oh, god_.

Richie kneels beside his brother and places his large hand on Seth’s chest to steady him. Seth’s eyes are unfocused, wide and afraid as he struggles for air. But the minute they spot Richie they turn into glaring slits. Seth moves his lips, trying and failing to form words.

“Don’t try to speak,” Richie says softly.

It’s almost a blessing he _can’t_ speak. Kate doesn’t have to know Seth’s thoughts to know he blames his brother for what’s happening to him now. When the things he’d say to Richie on his dying breath would be the end of _both_ brothers.

“What are we gonna do?!” Kate cries, frantic.

“I’m gonna have to turn him.”

Kate gasps. “Y-you can’t!”

“Stay back, Kate,” Richie says, face devoid of all emotion.

“But—”

“Kate, c’mon,” Scott says. Her brother grips her arm, trying to usher her away. The hold she has on Seth’s artery loosens and fresh, hot blood gushes between her fingers.

“No!” Kate wrenches herself away from Scott and applies as much pressure to the wound as she dares. Because there’s no way she’s giving up on him. _No way_. Angry tears spill down her cheeks at Scott and Richie for even suggesting it.

Seth blinks up at her, his face paler than she’s ever seen. A mix of fear and regret, anger and grief play on his features before settling on a quiet acceptance, and he stares up at her like she could be the answer to all his prayers. Seth’s fingers tap the back of her hand, and a chilling understanding crashes over her.

_Oh, god_ , he cannot be asking her what she thinks he is.

And _how could he_? How could he ask her to do this when he knows exactly what she’d suffered back in that temple? Her daddy had begged her to end it because he couldn’t bear to become a monster, and she’d been forced to watch the life leave him. To live every day after with his blood on her hands. She _cannot_ lose another person she cares about _and_ be the one to bear the weight of his death. She cannot _do this_. Not again.

Not Seth.

Kate chokes back a sob. “I-I can’t,” she cries. “No... Seth, please.”

But there’s no denying the certainty in his dark eyes.

He _wants_ to go.

Seth reaches up with an uncoordinated hand, and she feels his cold, clumsy fingers cup her cheek. Kate shuts her eyes, knowing deep down that this is the way it has to be.

The _only_ way.

There’s nothing in this world Seth hates more than monsters. How could she deny him this when she’d want the exact same thing in his place?

Defeated, she lets her hands slip away.

Seth gives a weak tug at the compress staunching the flow of blood at his neck, and it plops wetly on the ground by his head. It should relieve her that he’s at peace with his decision, but it doesn’t. Relief is the furthest thing from what she's feeling right now when he's made his choice.

When there's nothing she can do to save him.

Seth’s hand falls into her lap. Finding her hand, he grasps it, and with what little strength he has left laces his fingers with hers. Seth closes his eyes in acceptance as the life begins to bleed out of him faster than breathing, demanding with the little time he has left to go out on his own terms.

“Sorry, brother,” Richie says, tilting his head back to unleash his fangs. “Not today.”

Richie pushes Kate out of the way, and she falls back on her arms, watching in horror as Richie sinks his fangs into his brother’s neck. Seth flails under the assault before finally falling limp, and Kate suddenly wonders if it’s possible _not_ to turn. Maybe it’s too late? Maybe he’s lost too much blood and Richie’s venom won’t be able to spread and Seth will just be _dead_ because how can a person come back from _this_?

Richie releases Seth, lingering a breath before he pulls away. Blinking, he sits back on his heels looking shaken. With a trembling hand, Richie wipes at the blood on his mouth, leaving a red stain across his cheek.

Kate’s eyes burn with tears and she covers her mouth at the sight of Seth lying there motionless. Her hands slick with his blood leave a sticky imprint on her face.

_...deliver us from evil..._

Scott kneels beside Seth, fingering the pulse points of Seth’s wrist. Kate holds her breath as she watches her brother, still hopeful against her better judgment.

But Scott, eyes downcast, shakes his head.

“He’s gone.”


	2. Signs of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only reason why she’s not dead on the ground right now is because Seth had taken her place.
> 
> Tanner was wrong. In this world, it’s _always_ about blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, I'm sorry this update took so long! I really wanted to have this done months ago, but this summer was rough, and then we buried my grandpa. So I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the greatest. I really struggled with writing it. I gave it my best though, so I hope y'all still enjoy it!
> 
> Also, I've basically never written for Richie before this fic, so if I'm getting him totally wrong please let me know!
> 
> Edit: I've made some revisions for clarity. Hope this reads a bit better now. :)

Richie paces back and forth, treading a path in the dirt with his restlessness. Every five seconds, he glances down at his wristwatch, undoubtedly performing calculations in his head. In all of his strategic planning, Kate knows there’s no way he’d ever conceived that _this_ would be the outcome.

“It’s been too long,” Richie mutters—more to himself, she thinks, than in the hopes of hearing a response. “It doesn’t usually take this long.”

She’s never seen him like this before. Richie, always so cool and collected, and ready with an answer. Between the two of them, _Seth_ had been the anxious one. But as the minutes stretch into hours and his brother _still_ hasn’t turned, Richie’s become wild with desperation.

“You’re shivering.”

In the back of her mind Kate recognizes her brother’s voice, but her mind is _far_ from here. And even as Scott unzips his jacket and drapes it around her shoulders, she can’t tear her eyes away from Seth. She doesn’t even feel the cold anymore. There’s just... _nothing_.

_He’s gone_.

She hadn’t felt it. Not at first. Because Seth Gecko _dying_? The concept alone was unthinkable. Time had seemed to stop and fast forward all at once. And then as it slowly began to sink in, and her head buzzed with the silence, she’d looked over to find Seth's face slackened and pale. No breath on his lips. The blood had long since stopped flowing from the wound in his neck, and it’s as if every ounce of it pooled around his head like a perverted halo.

Somehow, he’d disappeared right in front of her.

Kate uncurls from the ball she’s made of herself, and on aching hands and knees, she crawls to his side. Scott’s jacket falls away from her shoulders, but she hardly notices the loss of the borrowed heat when no amount of warm layers can dispel the TV static tingle of numbness that’s left her frozen inside.

“Don’t— _don’t touch him!_ ” Richie hisses, like a big old angry rattler wild with the instinct to defend itself.

She should probably feel something. Afraid, maybe. Moments after Seth had fallen still, Richie rounded on Scott for being too close to Seth’s body, spewing threats and venom. Scott had flinched back, and hadn’t dared to edge closer since.

Kate blinks up at Richie to find his eyes wide and frantic, his entire body coiling in anticipation of a fight.

Ignoring every instinct her body screams in self-preservation, Kate reaches for Seth, noticing in her periphery as the fight in Richie dies.

He’s _cold_. Kate shrinks back with a gasp and drops his hand. It falls limply at his side.

You’d think she’d have gotten used to dead bodies by now. Would have gotten used to _losing_ people. But every loss feels like the first one.

She takes his hand again, and the touch of his stiff fingers wakes her up to everything she’s refused to feel.

Kate bites back a cry.

_He’s gone_.

Every part of her hurts. After being held at gunpoint, tackled, and nearly blown up, she’s nearly black and blue with pain. Skinned knees have painted streaks of blood down the legs of her jeans, the gravelly dirt cutting into twice-damaged skin. A headache pounds at the top of her head from crying. And dirt and blood and sweat cling to her skin, now dried over in the November chill that leaves her shaking in the absence of her denim jacket.

But there isn’t a cut or bruise she’s endured that hurts as much as _this_.

_Everybody that you ever loved is dead_.

Seth had never meant to include himself in that column of people she cared about. But somehow, he’d still managed to make his way onto her list.

_He’s gone_.

“Oh, Seth,” she gasps, and it’s like she’s discovered sadness for the first time. A flood of tears spills down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she chokes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Just give it some more time,” Richie says, almost as if he’s begging _her_ to give it to him. “It’ll work. It has to.”

Kate’s not so sure anymore.

It’d seemed promising at first. Culebra venom had brought one Gecko boy back to life once. There was no reason at all to believe it wouldn’t work a second time.

This just _isn’t_ how the story of Seth Gecko is supposed to end. He was supposed to live into his golden years and wistfully look back on his bank robbing days with Richie. He was supposed to pass peacefully in his house by the beach. He’d spoken of it often enough, she’d almost imagined herself by his side when that day came.

But all the warmth has left him. He’s nothing now but an empty body.

Mama had been the same when Kate stood before her casket to say one last goodbye. They’d painted her up. Put her in a dress Kate had never seen her wear before. She’d hardly even looked like herself. Kate hadn’t dared to touch her because that wasn’t Mama in that box. Not anymore.

But then again, Mama had been gone long before they put her in the ground, hadn’t she?

_It should have been me_.

The realization slams into her like a hammer striking a nail and leaves her swaying with the shock of it. A vision of herself lying dead on the ground with a hole in her gut enters her mind, and it’s all too clear.

She was never meant to walk out of there alive. There’d been a moment, when Carlos wouldn’t let her go and she’d had that sneaking suspicion that there was no future for her. It figures that a place so ancient and unholy would demand blood in exchange for the _santa sangre_ , a resource so powerful it could revolutionize the supernatural world. _Of course_ there would be a price, some kind of sacrifice that’d have to be made.

She’d been chosen.

The only reason why she’s not dead on the ground right now is because Seth had taken her place.

Tanner was wrong. In this world, it’s _always_ about blood.

With one hand, she runs her fingers through Seth’s soft, dark hair. With the other, she strokes his face, marveling at the features she’s come to know so well. Even on his worst days, he’d always been a looker, and she’d found it difficult not to stare. She traces over his brow, always so severe with deep lines that made him appear older than he was. Now those lines have relaxed, and he looks so young, peaceful. As if he’s found the paradise he’d always been searching for but had never seemed able to find in life unless it came from a needle.

She grazes a finger through the rough stubble on his cheek, stroking over his bottom lip with her thumb. His lips are parted, and she smiles down at him, imagining that any second he’ll make a snarky comment.

Some days, she didn’t know whether she wanted to kiss him or slap him. There were days she didn’t want to so much as _look_ at him when all she’d find was ridicule in his sunken, bloodshot eyes. But then she’d catch glimpses of a heat there when he’d look at her, and it’d make her burn in ways kissing Kyle never had.

He’d ended things between them before she got to find out what else she might have seen.

Heedless of their brothers’ eyes, she leans down to press a trembling kiss to the side of his bloodstained mouth.

She’d never really wanted to leave him, never got the chance to tell him how sorry she was.

_And now he’ll never know_.

With a shaking breath, Kate places Seth’s limp hand on his chest. Reaching for the clasp at the back of her neck, she removes the beloved golden cross that has nestled at her throat for almost a year. Mama’s cross. She’s cherished it more than any other possession. And after everything she’s lost, it’s been the one thing that still ties her back to her old life in Bethel.

But if this is goodbye, maybe he needs it now more than she does.

His neck is so thick, the chain barely fits around all the muscle there. But she manages to fasten the necklace, adjusting it so that the cross lies in the dip at the base of his throat.

Sitting back, Kate wipes at her eyes.

“You’re acting like he’s already gone,” Richie says, a tremble in his voice.

Glancing up, Kate finds Richie’s mouth twisted with pain and tears budding in his angry, terrified eyes, and it hits her. Seth _barely_ survived Mexico. She’s seen what being separated from Richie did to him, turning him into half a person. She cannot even begin to imagine what losing Seth will do to Richie. If they’re not together, it always seems to spell disaster for everyone around them.

The world just isn’t ready for Richard Gecko to be on his own.

“Sun will be coming up soon,” Scott announces, and sure enough, the dark is steadily making its retreat. In an hour or less, they’ll be doused in sunlight, giving Scott and Richie little time to get back indoors.

Kate gives a mournful sigh. “It’s time, Richie.”

He looks like he wants to protest, but the words die on his lips. Culebra or not, they can’t keep Seth out here when sunrise is almost upon them. Even Richie has to be sensible enough to realize this.

Richie is quiet. Too quiet, and Kate wonders if he’s gone into shock. He stares into dead space, staring _through_ her.

“Richie,” she says softly. “It’s time to go.”

He blinks, and the blank look fades out of his eyes. “Okay,” he rasps, running agitated hands through his hair. Clearing his throat, he says, “I’m... gonna take him home.” He shakes his head, sniffling. And then he somehow snaps right back to business, though he still appears shaken. “Carlos,” Richie starts, pointing a finger at Scott. “We need to dispose of the body. Scatter the remains as far and wide as you can. The last thing we need is that asshole coming back from the dead.”

“Got it,” Scott nods, setting off to prepare Carlos’s body for transportation.

“Scott, wait!” Kate calls out. But he doesn’t stop his quick stride, intent on his mission.

It pains her to have to cut this short. Wishing she’d had more time, she gives Seth’s hand one last squeeze before chasing after her brother.

“You don’t have to do this.”

Scott kneels beside Carlos’s remains and refuses to even look at her. “Do you have any idea of what Carlos did for me? He... he was like a mentor to me. But then he tried to _kill_ you.” Scott shakes his head, disgusted. “He would have, y’know? If Seth hadn’t been there...” Scott balls up a fist and punches his knuckles into the dirt. “I messed up, Kate. I’m—I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to protect you.”

“Scott—”

“I have to do this,” he says with resolve, and Kate doesn’t see the point in fighting him anymore.

Scott gathers Carlos’s body, hauling the headless culebra onto his back to carry him out of the pit.

Glancing around, Kate wonders how he plans to move the body. The decades old El Camino Carlos arrived in didn’t survive the tanker blast, the remains of it a shell among the debris. And with the lone motorcycle out of the question, and the RV missing, that leaves only whatever vehicle Seth drove here.

Kate spots the car abandoned at the top of the hill beside Richie’s Camaro, and Scott begins the trek up to it. She carries Carlos’s decapitated head for him, holding it out in front of her like leaky pumpkin. Carlos’s blood drips all over her boots, and she makes a face. Scott manages to pry open the trunk one-handed and dumps Carlos’s body inside.

Kate glares at the severed head. Hate fills her at the twisted expression frozen on Carlos’s monstrous face. Everything she’s been through tonight, everything she’s suffered. Scott’s betrayal of their family. Nearly being murdered. _Losing Seth_. It was all because of _him_.

With a scream, Kate lobs Carlos’s head into the trunk and slams it shut. A shudder runs through her. Disgusted, she wipes her bloody hands on her jeans.

By the time she’s done, Scott is already making his way to the driver’s side. Kate runs up beside him. “I’m guessing you’ll need a ride after you dump this one. I left my car back at Jacknife Jed’s. Bring it to Richie’s when you’re done. I’ll text you the address.” Kate digs into her pocket for her car key and holds it out to him.

“Sure.” Scott snatches the key fob out of her hand.

“I want you to call me as soon as you’ve gotten rid of the body.”

Scott rolls his eyes, but nods. He turns, pulling open the driver’s side door.

“And Scott?” Kate tugs him into her arms for a hug. “You’re my brother,” she whispers.

He says nothing, but there’s understanding in the nod she feels against her neck and the squeeze of his arms at her back.

When it comes down to it, losing Scott isn’t something she ever wants to experience. It doesn’t matter how mad at him she gets. He’s her brother.

And he’s the only family she’s got left.

Kate watches as Scott drives away, only making her way back down the hill once he’s disappeared from view.

She finds Richie kneeling by his brother with his hand on Seth’s unmoving chest, speaking in low tones too soft for her to hear. As she approaches, Richie straightens and sits back on his heels, swiping an indiscreet hand under his runny nose before rising to his feet. Finally, he reaches for his brother, lifting Seth from underneath the arms.

With a heavy heart, Kate moves to the foot of Seth’s prone body to gather his legs.

“You should’ve gone with your brother,” Richie grunts, hauling Seth up before she’s even gotten a hold of his feet.

“He is doing what he thinks is right, and so am I.”

“You enjoy moving bodies that much?” Richie snarks. Outraged, Kate’s mouth drops open. But before she can think of a reply, Richie cuts her off. “Look, Katie. I can take care of this by myself. Why don’t you just go home?”

“I am not doing this for _you_!” Kate snaps. She cuts a look at Seth and feels her face wobble. She can still feel the warmth of his smile. His _real_ smile, not the biting grin he’d give her following an insult. “I am doing it for _him_. He was my—” _Friend_ , she wants to say, but somehow that doesn’t feel like the right word. They were _friendly_. Sometimes. When he wasn’t strung out on heroin or drowning himself in alcohol like it was his day job.

But there was more to it than that. When friendship with Seth was unpredictable, and anger and frustration were a near constant, there was trust. _Always_.

_You’ll get out of this without any bumps or scrapes_ , he’d said.

He’d more than kept his promise. He’d given his life for it.

“We were partners.” At the sight of Seth lifeless in Richie’s arms, tears burn at the back of her eyes. Kate swallows the lump in her throat, fearing that if she starts crying again, she won’t ever stop. “I would be dead if it weren’t for him. I owe him this much.”

Deep down, she knows Richie is hurting, that his lashing out at her is a result of his pain. That he now has to bear the weight of these consequences that his actions, his _ambition_ directly caused. He _at least_ has the decency to look guilty.

Kate sighs, and with it releases all her anger, and suddenly she’s just tired. Too tired to keep calling Richie on his bullshit.

“C’mon then,” he says by way of an apology. “Let’s get him to the car.”

Grabbing Seth’s legs, Kate helps carry Seth to the Camaro. After finagling with the door to get it open, Richie places Seth into the passenger seat, and Seth’s head lolls on his neck like a doll. Kate’s eyes sting as she bends to adjust his legs in the foot-bed while Richie reaches across him to belt Seth in.

With that much accomplished, Kate stands back, her heart sinking as Richie makes his way to the driver’s side. He isn’t Seth, she realizes too late. The complete opposite of him. Would he really abandon her in the middle of nowhere without a ride? It’ll take her hours to hike back to the bar, and she’d stupidly given Scott her car keys—

Much to Kate’s surprise, Richie pops the lever and moves the seat forward.

“Get in.”

::::

They make it back to Houston, somehow managing to beat the morning rush hour, and with a few moments to spare before sunrise.

Richie pulls into the parking lot of a place called Fast Eddie’s Color TV Repair. Home—as it turns out—is Uncle Eddie’s shop. She’s heard bits and pieces about the man who raised the Geckos. Seth hadn’t mentioned him often, but when he did there was always a nostalgic look in his eyes and admiration for his Uncle Eddie in his voice. Seth’s stories about the old man always left her with a sad smile.

Richie gets out and makes his way to the passenger door before she can even climb out of the backseat. He’s already hauling Seth up onto his shoulders by the time she catches up. He hands her the key and Kate hurries to unlock the door, rushing through first to hold the door open for him.

At first glance, Eddie’s shop doesn’t look like much. It’s kind of dusty, with shelves upon shelves of outdated electronic parts taking up every square inch. Richie disappears around a corner and Kate hurries to catch up with him.

Farther inside, the shop transitions into a home, and Kate feels as though she’s stepped into the 70s with all the wood paneling on the walls. Just like all the electronics in Eddie’s shop, the retro furnishings appear to be authentic. Big, triangular windows at the far end of the apartment have been plastered over with newspaper, although the first dregs of sunlight peek through at the edges. Old TV units litter every corner of Eddie’s house. Some, she thinks, that might even be older than her parents. And on the far wall, there’s a shelf of VHS tapes of mostly movies she’s never even heard of.

It’s no wonder the boys are such nerds.

“What do we tell your uncle about what happened?” Kate asks.

“We won’t have to worry about that.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s dead,” Richie grits.

Kate’s rendered speechless. She’d never known the man, but she thinks she would have liked the chance to meet him. She wonders if Seth knows. _Knew_. He must have been devastated over Eddie’s loss. “I’m... sorry,” is all she manages pitifully.

“Let’s just get him on the couch.”

Richie props Seth on his feet, and grasps his shoulders. Kate reaches for Seth’s legs, and together they lay him out on the couch. Kate adjusts Seth’s legs, making sure they lie straight. One of his arms hangs over the side, and Richie rests it on his chest.

He’s home. But with no uncle to greet them, it’s anything but a warm welcome.

There’s a leather living chair nearby that Kate would give anything to fall into, but she wouldn’t dare sully Eddie’s furniture with her filthy clothes. Looking down at herself, she suddenly can’t stand all the grime.

“There’s a bathroom to the right if you want to wash up.” Richie points at the opposite end of the apartment.

Kate nods and heads past the front desk and into the bathroom. Once alone, she locks the door, finding herself unable to move another inch. Her head falls back against the door, and tears shake loose from her eyes.

The fight. The explosion. Seth. It all comes rushing back. Kate squeezes her eyes shut to block it out, but it’s useless. Reliving it again in her mind, she sees Seth fall to his knees clutching his neck, watching helplessly as the life fades out of him.

_He came to save me_.

And now he may never wake up.

Kate chokes back her sobs, not wanting Richie to overhear.

Exhausted from crying, Kate scrubs her swollen face. She reaches for the shower knobs with clumsy fingers and sets it to the hottest temperature she can stand. Kate strips out of her dirty clothes, letting them fall on the floor. Avoiding looking in the mirror, she steps into the shower, letting the water spray her face. It feels like bliss against her skin after so long out in the cold, and she shivers with the sensation. Kate ducks her head to wet her hair and cringes as the water turns red.

The only shampoo available is some 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner that has the overwhelming scent of tea tree oil. Kate pours a handful into her palm and scrubs her hair until it feels clean. She stays in there, shivering and crying until the water turns cold and she’s forced to leave.

Kate finds a first aid kit under the sink and attends to her scraped knees and palms. The alcohol stings, and Kate hisses through her teeth at the pain. Only after toweling off, does she realize she has nothing to wear. She can’t bear the thought of putting on her filthy jeans and tank top. Not in the state they’re in. Luckily, she spots a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on the shelf, and sets about getting the bloodstains out of her clothes. After three months on the run with Seth, she’s gotten pretty good at it. Kate tries to scrub the dirt from her clothes next, using a little hand soap to get the tougher stains out. It’s not perfect, but it’s an improvement, and she hangs those up to dry on the towel rack in the shower.

Glancing around for something other than a towel to wear, Kate catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror and is stunned. Bruises dot her skin like leopard spots, and it’s at that moment she remembers to feel how much everything hurts.

It could be worse, she supposes. She could be dead. It’d been a close call. If Seth hadn’t shown up when he did...

She _would_ be.

Nearly four months have passed since the Titty Twister, and every time she looks in the mirror she recognizes herself a little less. Kate lets out a shaking breath, unable to stomach her own reflection.

With nothing to wear, she secures the towel tightly around her body before daring to step out of the bathroom.

Richie had drawn all the blinds. It’s dark, with only the incandescent light of the lamps to illuminate the way to the living room. Kate makes her way back, finding Richie slumped at the table with his head in his hands and a half empty bottle of whiskey open before him. He glances up when she enters and sits up straighter at the sight of her clutching the towel closed around herself.

Kate is suddenly reminded of the moment they first met. When they met _for real_ , that is, and she’d first learned the name Richard Gecko. She’d been dripping wet and in a towel then too, only she hadn’t been naked underneath it. Richard had done his best to scare her that day. He hardly seems like a threat right now, but the remembered trauma starts her heart racing and every primitive instinct screaming at her to _run_.

Kate fists the towel shut at her cleavage, trembling.

“Umm... is there anything...?” she starts.

Richie clears his throat awkwardly. “Uhh, there should be something in there.” He waves towards the open doorway behind him. “Take whatever you need.”

“Thanks.” Kate does her best to calm her racing heart as she passes by him and into the bedroom, and doesn’t relax until the door is shut between them.

Inside, there’s a full-sized bed shoved up against the left wall with a green tapestry hanging next to it. The bed doesn’t look like it’s been slept in, with the sheets wrinkle-free and the hospital corners neatly tucked. The room as a whole is spotless. This must be Uncle Eddie’s room.

Kate’s eyes are drawn to a grimy old black and white photo nestled in the corner of the mirror above the dresser. She picks it up, careful not to scratch it. In the photo are two men wearing dark suits that remind her of Seth and Richie. If the man on the right were wearing glasses, he could be Richie’s twin. Though she can’t detect much of Seth in the face of the man she presumes to be the boys’ father.

Given the dark look on his face on the off chance he ever mentioned his old man, that’s probably a blessing.

Kate returns the picture and ignores her own reflection as she drags open the top drawer. She stops herself, staring down at the drawer full of white t-shirts and gray sweat pants neatly folded within. It feels almost disrespectful to rummage through Eddie’s belongings so selfishly, even though Richie had given her permission. Kate whispers a prayer for the man the boys loved so much before finally picking out a shirt and sweats for herself. There’s a rack of clothes on the other end of the room where Eddie hung up his suit jackets. Kate takes the blue striped robe she finds hanging there and quickly dresses.

Richie’s gone when she reenters the living room, and panic surges up within her, believing he’s left her alone with Seth’s body. It’s a moment before she hears the water running in the bathroom, and Kate realizes he’s only taking a shower.

It’s hardly any kind of comfort with Seth still lying on the couch exactly where they’d left him. If she didn’t know any better, she could almost believe he was merely asleep.

Except... he’d always been a light sleeper.

If Seth was coming back, he’d have done it by now, right? No part of her wants to believe it, but it’s hard to deny the truth when it’s staring her in the face.

_He’s gone_.

Tears burn her eyes, and she reaches for the throw blanket draped on the back of the couch. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, laying the blanket over Seth, obscuring his face and the grisly wound that killed him. She collapses to her knees.

That’s how Richie finds her a few moments later. His face falls the instant he sees what she’s done. Kate wipes her leaking nose with the back of her hand, guilt surging up inside of her at the pained expression on Richie’s face. He stomps past her and into his uncle’s bedroom without a word. Kate flinches at the slam of the door behind him.

Scrubbing her face of tears, Kate curls up in the living chair next to the couch and hugs the robe tight around her shivering body.

_Everybody that you ever loved is dead_.

Seth couldn’t have known how his words would haunt her. Couldn’t have known that they’d keep coming true.

And now?

Well, there’s no use in pretending anymore.

_He’s gone_.

The next challenge will be getting Richie to come to terms with that.

::::

Kate startles awake only to find Richie looming over her. He’s dressed now in his usual tailored suit and tie.

“Still no change,” he says, though it sounds more like a question. He frowns down at his brother.

Kate blinks, not knowing when she’d fallen asleep. She rubs at her wet cheeks, realizing she must have been crying in her sleep. “Not that I’ve noticed, no,” she answers grimly.

Richie looks as if she’d just punched him in the gut.

“It’s been hours,” she starts. “What if—”

“Dammit, Kate,” Richie grounds out through clenched teeth. “Why are you in such a hurry to bury him?”

“I’m _not_! I just think—Well, _someone_ needs to be thinking about this! Look, I’m sorry you lost your brother. I really am. I’ve lost people too! But let’s be real here, I don’t think he’s coming back—”

“Oh, you wanna be real now?” Richie sneers. “Was it so bad back in Mexico, just the two of you?” He gives her a lazy once-over, and Kate is taken aback by the contempt she sees in his eyes. “Sure became a pro with that needle, Princess.”

Kate surges to her feet. “ _Don’t_ ,” she threatens with a finger. “Don’t _even_ go there. You don’t know what it was like between us, and catching a thirty second glimpse of my life through some magic blood bond is _nothing_ compared to _living_ it! So don’t _you_ come at me with these accusations when _you_ were the one who—”

Kate gasps, every insult she’d wanted to spew at Richie dying on her lips.

Because just behind Richie, Seth sits up on the couch with a groan.

The blanket falls away from Seth’s face, and it’s just like in one of the zombie horror flicks he’d made her watch. They’d been playing on TV all October for Halloween, and he’d recited the dialogue of each Romero movie by heart.

“Seth...?” she whispers, taking a stumbling step toward him. Could this really be happening? Elation begins to fill her heart.

In an instant, Richie is at Seth’s side. “Welcome back to the land of the living, brother.” Richie grins, clapping Seth on the shoulder. The look on his face when he glances back at her as good as says I _told you so_.

Seth reaches up with a tentative hand to feel for the wound in his neck. But where a gaping hole had once left the muscles and tendons exposed, there is nothing now but perfectly healed skin. Apart from the dried blood stains on his neck, there’s no evidence of the wound at all. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, it’d be easy to believe it’d never happened.

Seth swings his feet onto the floor and fluidly stands. He cracks his neck, screwing up his face at the pop it makes, and rolls his shoulders, giving his arms a shake as if he’s staving off rigor mortis. Finally, he stops and faces his brother.

“Richard,” he says, just before connecting his fist to Richie’s face.

Kate yelps and jumps back as Richie takes a dive. He lands on the wooden coffee table in the center of the living room, smashing it to pieces.

“Son of a bitch!” Richie groans, clutching his nose.

Seth snarls, and Kate whirls around to find him completely unrecognizable.

Instead of the handsome, chiseled features Kate has come to know, purple scales emerge on Seth’s face, his eyes transforming from a warm brown to green slits. Kate jumps as fangs erupt from his gums.

He’s not a man anymore.

He’s a _monster_.

Richie scrambles up onto his feet. He swings out an arm at Kate in an attempt to push her a safe distance away, though with a freshly turned culebra out for blood and in close quarters, there’s no such thing. The blow to her stomach knocks the breath from her lungs, and she crashes to the floor.

Richie tackles Seth, the two brothers tumbling into the couch and toppling it over. The clash of their bodies knocks down the shelf full of electronics behind it.

Kate finds her feet and bolts behind the shop front desk. When she dares to peek out, Seth is straddling his brother with his hands around Richie’s neck.

Seth has always had a taste for violence, but this is unlike anything she’s ever seen. Seth growls inhumanly at Richie, tightening the grip on his brother’s throat. Richie flails beneath him, and it’s like a reenactment of the night before, and she’s just as equally helpless to stop it.

Somehow, Richie manages to gain the upper hand and flings Seth to the floor. Richie swings his arm back, and Kate cringes at the _crack_ of his knuckles against Seth’s cheekbone. Seth’s head snaps back against the floor, the sound of his skull hitting concrete louder than a thunderclap. His head rolls on his shoulders, dazed. In seconds he comes back to his senses with a hiss. But Richie doesn’t hesitate, and flips Seth over onto his belly. With a knee grinding into Seth’s spine, Richie pins him down, tugging one of Seth’s arms behind his brother’s back. Seth shrieks and struggles, but Richie’s got him restrained.

For now.

“He needs blood!” Richie shouts. “The fridge! Blood bags! Grab two!”

Kate darts out to the fridge and sees the supply of medical bags among the sparse groceries. She grabs two bags like Richie instructed, both different blood types. Any blood should do, right? She hurries back to Richie.

Richie forces a bag into his brother’s hands and allows Seth to tear into it with his fangs. Seth sucks down the blood hungrily, like a starved animal. Richie steps back to observe, standing protectively between her and Seth.

She peeks around him to watch, relieved that it seems to be working. But then Seth snarls and hurls the blood bag away, throwing up some of what he’d greedily sucked down.

Seth whips his head up, mouth bloody. Kate flinches as those glowing serpent eyes fix on her.

“Richie,” she whispers. “Are you just gonna stand there?!”

But Richie seems paralyzed, transfixed on the palm of his left hand which he holds outstretched before him. Kate gasps when a gash appears in the middle of Richie’s palm, and a blue eyeball emerges.

But between Richie’s creepy eye and Seth inching closer, Seth poses the bigger threat. He skulks nearer, his body tensing, and Kate’s blood runs cold.

“Seth, this isn’t you,” she tries, but it’s no use. All trace of humanity in Seth is gone, and now he’s acting on nothing but animal instinct. “Seth, please,” she begs.

_Oh, god_.

Seth charges.

Kate screams.

But just before Seth can attack, Richie reaches out with his palm and grabs onto his brother’s face.

Seth’s eyes widen in shock, his entire body going rigid.

“Settle the _fuck_ down!” Richie commands, pushing Seth to the floor. He lands on his ass, and in one blink, his eyes return to their normal brown, the scales and fangs disappearing from his face.

He looks shaken. Seth swipes the back of his hand over his mouth and stares in horror at the blood streaked across his skin. There’s a wild look in his eyes as he glances between her and Richie, understanding growing on his features.

Seth leaps up and makes a break for the back door.

“Stop!” Richie shouts, taking off after him.

But Seth is too quick.

He beats them to the exit, wrenching the door off its hinges. He takes his first staggering steps outside—

And screams.

In seconds, he looks like the victim of a five alarm fire, with third degree burns covering every inch of visible skin. Smoke gusts off him as the burns turn to scorches, and what was once skin begins to flake away like ashes before Richie yanks him back inside.

Richie drags him across the kitchen floor and deposits him some feet from the exit, well away from the sunlight still streaming into the house through the mangled door.

“It’s daylight,” Richie says. “You can’t leave.”

Seth writhes on the floor, gripping his face and moaning in pain. “I see that now, asshole!”

The burned skin begins to heal almost as quickly as it’d been ruined. Before long, there’s no trace of the burns left.

Richie holds out a hand for Seth to help him up off the floor, but Seth slaps it away and rises to his feet. In an attempt to regain some composure, Seth swats the dust off his suit jacket. It’s almost comical to see him attempt to fix his appearance when his clothes are bloodstained and probably beyond salvaging at this point.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re so upset about,” Richie mutters. “I only saved your goddamn life!”

“No, Richard! You _ended_ it!”

With nowhere else to turn, Seth escapes to Eddie’s bedroom.

“You can’t run from this, brother!” Richie shouts after him.

With one last scathing look at Richie, Seth slams the door shut.

Richie sighs in defeat, running a shaking hand through his messy hair. “Kate,” he says after some time. “I’m gonna need you to do me a favor.”

“What...?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

Richie gives a strained smile, twisting his mouth as he works himself up to the big ask. But Kate’s bullshit radar starts pinging before he can even get the words out.

Because between his feeble attempts to charm her and the new suit he’s donned? It occurs to her.

He’s _leaving_.

“No...” Kate gives an incredulous laugh. “No, no, no. No way! _You_ turned him, so now he is _your_ responsibility!”

“Kate, c’mon. I have other things I have to deal with right now!”

“Like hell you do!”

Richie’s lips tighten in frustration. “Would you just—” He grabs her by the arm, but Kate jerks herself away.

“Don’t _touch_ me!”

“Okay, okay.” Richie holds his palms up in surrender.

Kate notices with some unease that the eyeball on his palm is now _gone_. It occurs to her suddenly that he could whip it out at any time and use it to brainwash her into doing _anything_ , the same way he'd used it to control Seth.

Kate backs several feet away from him.

A pained look passes over his face. “I would never do that to you,” he says, though Kate’s finding it hard to believe _anything_ that comes out of his mouth after the lies he’d fed her all night. After he’d gone and let his pride and ambition go to his head and they’d lost _everything_ because of it.

“Look,” he says. “I just need you to make sure he doesn’t try to off himself or something. Can you do that?”

“No! You do _not_ get to dump him in my lap again and just take off! I’m not a therapist, Richie! I can’t _fix_ him!”

Back in Mexico, she as good as held Seth’s hand as he sank deeper and deeper into his depression. She’d definitely helped the needle find its mark, and did the honors herself of doping him up on at least one occasion—as Richie had been all too happy to remind her. And he really wants _her_ as Seth’s round the clock suicide watcher?

Hell, she’s the _last_ person he should be asking.

Kate crosses her arms over her chest, unable to meet Richie’s eyes.

“Please,” he begs. “Kate, please.”

Kate squeezes her eyes shut in frustration.

God help her, she never has been able to say _no_.

“Fine,” she agrees. “But you have to do something for me.”

“What’s that?” Richie blinks and screws up his face, noticing for the first time since the brawl with Seth that there are new scuffs on the lenses of his glasses. Richie frowns and removes the frames, discarding them on the kitchen table.

With a sigh, Kate stares off at the door Seth escaped through.

“Just... promise me you’ll come back this time?” she says. “He needs you.”


End file.
